Russian troops not heading to Tbilisi – Russia

Russia has officially denied reports its troops have entered Georgian territory beyond the conflict zone, in breach of the ceasefire agreement. Throughout the day, major international news channels have been reporting th

Meanwhile, Russian units shot down a Georgian drone over Tskhinvali on Tuesday evening, according to the Russian Army. Its Assistant Commander, Col. Igor Konashenkov, told the Interfax new agency that the drone was on an aerial reconnaissance mission in an area patrolled by Russian peacekeeping forces.

Konashenkov stressed that the Georgian military sent the aircraft to the region despite claims by the country’s leadership that their troops had moved out of the conflict zone.

He added that the detection of any further drones by Russian forces would result in them being shot down.|

Throughout the conflict, the Georgian leadership has been waging a media war against Russia. There have been a number of false claims about Russian troop movements in Georgia.

On Monday, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Russia of occupying Gori. This information was reported by the world media but later denied.

Saakashvili has also claimed that Russia should be held responsible for the destruction of the South Ossetian city of Tskhinvali, not Georgia. The Georgian President was speaking at a news conference in Tbilisi, where he was joined by the presidents of Poland and post-Soviet states Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said the five leaders were attending the conference in support of the Georgian government.

Earlier, Saakashvili claimed Russian troops sank Georgian coastal guard boats in the port city of Poti. He said Russia wanted to bomb the port, but the city authorities convinced them to move the vessels into the sea and sink them with explosives.

Meanwhile, Russian General Staff Deputy Commander Anatoli Nogovitsin has said that several boats attacked a Russian Navy vessel near Poti. The ship fired back and drove the attackers away, he said.